Travellers excited at the prospect of seeing family and friends for the first time since the Covid pandemic began took off for the US on Monday as it lifted travel restrictions slapped on much of the world for the best part of two years.
The travel ban, first imposed in early 2020, had barred access to non-US citizens travelling from 33 countries – including China, India and much of Europe – and had also restricted overland entry from Mexico and Canada.
The US lagged many other countries in lifting the curbs, made possible by the rollout of vaccines despite rising infections in many countries and critical to reviving tourism around the globe.
Months of pent-up demand triggered a major rise in bookings on Monday, with travellers only required to show official proof of vaccination and a recent, negative viral test.
Alice Keane, travelling to Miami to see her sister, said at London’s Heathrow airport, told Reuters: “I mean, I was meant to go just before Covid happened, and obviously it’s been delayed this long, so it’s really exciting to finally be able to go.”
Long-term rivals British Airways and Virgin Atlantic carried out simultaneous take-offs from Heathrow’s parallel runways just before 9am GMT, a stunt aimed at highlighting the importance of the transatlantic market to the UK’s aviation market.
The flights were full, Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss said, while passenger volume was expected to remain high in coming weeks with the approach of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“It’s a major day of celebration,” Weiss said, adding that planes were “filling up nicely”, in what he called a significant tipping point for an industry brought to its knees by the pandemic.
The US was preparing for long lines and delays on Monday, with United Airlines alone expecting about 50% more total international inbound passengers compared to last Monday when it had about 20,000.
Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian warned travellers should be prepared for long waits. “It’s going to be a bit sloppy at first. I can assure you, there will be lines unfortunately,” Bastian said, adding that “we’ll get it sorted out”.
The prospect of long queues did little to dent the enthusiasm of those preparing to be reunited with loved ones.
“I think we might just start crying,” Bindiya Patel, who was going to see her one-year-old nephew in New York for the first time, said at Heathrow, where jugglers dressed in the colour of the US flags greeted travellers.
US land borders also reopened to non-essential travel on Monday, though some inoculated Mexicans will not be able to enter the country immediately if they received vaccines in Mexico that have not been approved by the World Health Organization, such as China’s CanSino and Russia’s Sputnik V.
“I never imagined that because I got the CanSino vaccine I wouldn’t be able to cross,” lamented Donato Suarez, a driver at a private university in Tijuana who had hoped to visit relatives in the US he has not seen for nearly two years.
Hundreds of migrants have arrived at Mexican border cities such as Tijuana in recent days, hoping the reset will make it easier to cross and seek US asylum and despite warnings from advocates that the re-opening is for people who have papers.
In Canada, long lines formed overnight at US border points for an early rush of travellers but a Canadian requirement that all returning travellers have a negative PCR test is expected to dampen travel.
Canada, which allowed fully vaccinated Americans to cross the land border in August, is under pressure to drop the negative test requirement from businesses and travellers, who say showing proof of vaccination should be enough.
At the land border crossings from Mexico and Canada, US Customs and Border Protection will ask travellers if they have been vaccinated and will spot-check some documentation.
Under-18s are exempt from the new vaccine requirements. Non-tourist travellers from nearly 50 countries with nationwide vaccination rates of less than 10% are also eligible for exemption.
